… under the table .. T-A-N-G-E-R-I-N-E …
(I could have sworn that nursery rhyme goes something like that … )
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It is becoming a constant weekend thing, but we went back to our favorite Asian place and had the Thai hotpot .. which was again very yummy and lots of fun (and work)
… and Julius again got along just swell with Lucy, who is now fully in her big sister role and abducted Julius to join her under a table to eat some tangerine (much better than the lolipops they usually bribe Julius with) And Ritsu had a chance to snuggle with Martin, now about 2 months old. And I find it kind of interesting to think that Julius could have turned out to look like that (albeit, my Caucasian genes took a stand and placed themselves well |
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It has been a long time since we have visited this carnivore’s paradise, but Salsamentario was already booked out, so we got a reservation there.
Before that, opa, Julius and me checked out a nearby wine bar (Vini) that I had passed many times before, but never visited. And it was fun, they had little appetizers and a very nice selection of wines.
Later, Ritsu joined us and we enjoyed a fantastic chateau briand, while Julius was keeping opa from eating. (Warning: loooong video clip ahead)
Overall, Julius behaved quite well, food and service were great and we are looking forward to going there again.
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Ah, those days when he wants to play ‘battle of the minds’ and just is stubborn … in this case when he came back home from school and decided he wants to keep sitting out in the hallway …
Maybe I should slowly check if he is still there …
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We got an early start today. Ritsu is doing a workshop this week, so she has to be at the office earlier than usual. Thus the singing, cake and candle blowing had all to happen before 7 AM.
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Julius was suddenly all awake when he saw candles in the bedroom and he was eager to sing along … it appears they are teaching both, Italian and English versions of Happy Birthday at school. (Well, on the video you hear mostly me singing .. so plug up your ears)
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Among many things to get for his new school year was the request for a ‘pila piccola’ … which in my research comes out as ‘small battery’ … but that did not make a lot of sense … so I asked … and it turns out that they also use ‘pila’ for flashlight … ok …
Julius had a lot of fun with it and he has just such an evil grin on his face in this shot.
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Julius and Ritsu were trying out some new hair ideas for the little man.
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By chance we found this wonderful ‘Parco della Rimembranza’ up on the hill, being part of the ‘Colle della Maddalena’.
The weather was shiny but the view was hazy, so .. it looked like there was no Torino when we looked in the general direction. But the park itself was beautiful, Julius collected all kinds of things and was walking very well, the whole time.
We even found a great playground later on and for the first time Julius did the zip-line all by himself … on second attempt he even tried to wave to me / camera and nearly fell off, but realized the imbalance he had caused and grabbed on again.
Tons of pictures … enjoy:
This is actually from 3 weeks ago .. but I had so many good pictures that I had trouble sorting through them … so .. this post will be moved after a while to its 9/23 slot.
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… on a lazy Saturday morning …
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Click to get more of the boys dancing / goofing around from our visit / apperitivo to one of Ritsu’s colleague’s place.
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He is not a kindergardener anymore … he is now a pre-schooler … wow .. not much longer and he will graduate and leave the nest …
One of the side effects is that he now has gymnastics once a week and for this he is supposed to show up in a track suit … and since I had noticed they have their own branded variety and I did not want him to stick out with a different colored one, I ordered the school model for a whooping 35€ .. but looking at the size, this will be good for at least 2 years and it supports school spirit 
And it looks very cute!
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Recently Julius is back to his banana craze … ate 2 just before dinner … which resulted in the dinner Swedish meatballs being avoided … at least banana is good food
On to a more esoteric topic .. what end do you open the banana? I keep being told that I open the banana at the ‘wrong’ end .. I had no idea there was a right and wrong end.
| I believe I open it at the tip .. which makes it nice and easy to hold it at the handle … Let the discussion begin. (illustration on youtube) |  |
Just some morning fun.
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By now little J has become quite proficient in getting his clothes off by himself when it is time for the daily bath … but of course when papa is close by, waving a camera, he switches on the ‘whine-n-beg’ mode and asks me for help …
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Yesterday we went, once again, to our favourite Asian restaurant for lunch … it must be now like the 20th-30th time we have been there and we keep loving it .. it feels like family.
Lucy, the daughter of one of the waitress ladies, was all over Julius again, making him eat his stuff and totally understanding that Julius can come to play once he had finished his food (his recent crave is for ‘vitello al funghi’) and once he was done she kidnapped him and they set up their own table, played with the toys Julius brought along, drank water and Lucy kept luring him with crackers and candy .. sigh .. girls
At some point I asked Julius if he needs to use the potty … he said ‘no’ .. Lucy was wondering what was going on, so I somehow conveyed the same message in Italian … 5 minutes later I see Lucy taking Julius to the bathroom, pulling down his pants, help him to sit down ..
| handing him toilet paper, telling him to wash his hands … like a big sister … that was pretty amazing … |  |
Another trophy Julius brought back home from Kindergarten, or is it pre-school now? Not sure .. A little stick figure made from a wooden spoon and some leftover school uniform.
Why he picked black hair for a puppet he keeps calling Julius only his artsitic mind knows … but he loved showing it off. Oh, and the caption says ‘How nice I go to school’
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Saw this today at the Murazzi in Torino, the sign of a club / bar. Mariquita seems to be the Spanish (?) word for ladybug (Italian being ‘coccinella’).
But someone please tell me what a ‘dragstore’ is
Nice evening walk with stopping by our favourite gelato place and sitting in front of Gran Madre.
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Instead of playground, we went up the hills and stopped by the ‘parco villa genero’. The big attraction for Julius was to find and collect beautiful chestnuts.
This park has a beautiful long promenade, but also looks a bit run down in places.
But being fairly high up, you get a beautiful view of the city.
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Longtime online pal Koomi, who I have met last December 2005 in Hamburg, is visiting Torino and this time he got to meet Julius.
After the usual warm up phase, Julius was all over him and they played like crazy.
There was even some nice book reading to get ready for bed which Julius enjoyed a lot.
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